Puck Part 7: Alpha Flight #14 (September, 1984)

What starts off as a “date” of sorts with Heather turns into a nightmare right out of a horror film.

I have this issue.

Judd takes Heather to a movie and a meal to help her take her mind off the daunting task of living without Mac when they hear a woman scream. They find a young mother in shock, as she tells Judd that something came out of Lake Ontario and snatched her baby. Before Judd can think, Heather dives in, and something grabs her when she comes back up for air. Judd grabs her arm and pulls…resulting in whatever had Heather ripping her legs to shreds.

He uses his Alpha Flight authorization to get medical attention to both women. After Heather tells him what she saw, he heads to the authorities, and learns that the young child is only the seventeenth known person gone missing in the past ten months. Judd quickly deduces the most likely explanation and contacts Marrina, and explains to her his belief that the creature in the water is another Plodex – looking for its identity.

Notes of Interest:
1) Judd shows off his quick thinking and strong deductive skills.

WTF? Moment: Judd offers some good advice as Heather discusses her options. I like how he’s more a concerned friend than someone looking to get into her pants.

WTF? Moment #2: Byrne must have really liked Jaws. This could have easily been a cheap Syfy movie-of-the-week, but he used the plot from Marvel Team-Up Annual #7 and it worked.

WTF? Moment #3: I doubt Judd gets any type of paycheck from his Alpha Flight activities, and to date we’ve only seen him work as a bouncer. I’m not sure how much money bouncers make, but considering his living conditions I didn’t think he could afford to take Heather to such a fancy restaurant. Good thing they’re there for lunch instead of dinner – it could have been reeeealy expensive.

WTF? Moment #4: How did Judd know about the destruction of all the vampires? Seriously. How? Was he in some Dr. Strange issue I’m not aware of?

WTF? Moment #5: Is it me, or does Judd seem to have a calming affect on women? He constantly consoles Heather, and here he does the same with Marrina. We know that Tony Stark would end up bedding both…and Aurora…and possibly Northstar, but Judd’s calmness seems to stem from a place of kindness and genuine concern.